The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 570 Shen Le: What? I'm dead?

"Maybe I should hold back a little, not use so much force to induce labor, just make a cowhide rope..."

Shen Le soaked, scraped, stretched and tanned the hide in a methodical manner, and was so busy that beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

To make new (?) cowhide into leather rope, many processes must be followed, and no step can be missed:
Even if Shen Le wanted to use magic to speed up the process, considering the durability of the finished product, he had to be honest and follow the procedures taught online step by step.

This frees up a lot of time:
"That's all right. There are still so many iron pieces to be replaced. It's a good opportunity to find a gap. Once this is done, that will be done as well. We can install them together!"

To replace iron sheets or something, there is no need to even ask the Special Affairs Bureau for help or borrow a blacksmithing machine from a nearby factory.

The institute has its own forge, an electric forge on the left and an air hammer on the right. It's just some iron sheets, and it can be completed in three to five days, even if the failure rate is as high as 70%.

"Sure enough, no skill is wasted..."

Shen Le took the pliers and clamped the red-hot iron sheet, turning it back and forth. Dong, dong, dong, working very quickly:
"Last time, I learned how to forge iron in order to make a copper seal. Isn't it time to use it this time?"

Straight iron plates, curved iron plates, and ear protectors that curl outwards. The bright and smooth nail plates appeared before my eyes one by one.

Although using modern technology to forge iron "has no soul" - this is the evaluation of the weaponsmith. In Shen Le's opinion, it is probably because it is forged with an air hammer and cannot introduce his own spiritual energy very well - but who cares?
Shen Le didn't care anyway. He used the hammer to hit it himself, and the spiritual energy was transmitted from the hammer handle to the iron sheet. The loss rate was close to 100%. It would be better to use mental power to observe it all the time!
The slight fluctuation of spiritual energy shrouded by mental power is enough to allow the armor plates to be imbued with power and to be assimilated by the entire helmet!

Shen Le was busy forging iron, punching holes with a punch press, polishing, and rust prevention. After all the processing was completed, the cowhide was also tanned, and it was just right to cut it and braid it into leather ropes to string the armor plates together.

As for the way to braid the ropes, it is still a bit troublesome. The book about armor that Shen Le got listed more than a dozen options.

He had to follow the weaving traces on the nail plate and use a thin rope to shuttle back and forth. After trying again and again, he finally found a feasible solution:
"After tying the knot, pass it from the back of hole 1, into hole 2 - pass it from the back of hole 3, into hole 4 - hole 5..."

It was extremely troublesome. I had to write it down with pen and paper, and then compare it with the record while weaving it one hole at a time.

When I first started knitting, I often forgot something, or my hands and eyes didn’t line up, so I had to look up and check the notes…

【not like this! 】

When she got to the third one, the pomegranate red shirt couldn't bear it anymore and floated to his side, staring at him closely. As she spoke, she stretched out her long black hair and gently probed into a hole:
【here!】

Ah, here. Shen Le quickly grasped the leather rope and tried to pass through: the black hair on the skirt was eager to try, and it seemed that it was about to entangle the leather rope and pass directly inside.

It is already embarrassing to ask them to help record and give instructions, and asking them to help with the work is too much!

【here!】

【here!】

[Yes, wear it here! ]

[Wrong, wrong! The nail plate is in the wrong direction! ]

Shen Le: “…”

"Don't rush me... The more you rush me, the more confused I become and the more mistakes I make... Just let me calm down and take my time..."

He patiently reasoned with Luoqun. Luoqun spun around on the spot, and the bright red hem of her skirt formed a flower in the laboratory, and no one knew what she was saying.

Shen Le took a deep breath, tried to calm his mind, and worked desperately with his fingers flying.

Beside him, the little inkstone squatted over at some point, with the lead weight flying, tapping on each nail piece one by one;

Two silk skirts floated to her side, and according to the instructions of the little ink bucket, they helped to pass the armor pieces, wrap the ropes, and hold up the half-woven helmet;

Lanzhuang also projected a light and shadow in the air, creating a three-dimensional image of the helmet restoration:
[Come on! Come on! I've already edited half of it! It's almost done! ]

Shen Le: “…”

Thank you!

While he was complaining, his hands were not stopping. After plaiting the armor plates, he began to stimulate and tan the deerskin, fixing it into the shape of the helmet lining;

Then, they repaired the silk and white cloth lining the helmet, sewing them onto the padding stitch by stitch.

You need to be extra careful when repairing fabrics. If you are not careful, the silk will grow too long, and the white folded cloth fibers will also grow too long and spread outside the helmet...

"It's done! It's finally done!"

Shen Le was sweating as he worked. After finishing the last stitch, he picked up the pad and fixed it inside the helmet. He looked left and right, very satisfied:

"Isn't that it? The whole helmet is fixed! Although the silvering work is not yet complete and the tassel of the helmet has not been put on, it is basically done!"

It wouldn't look out of place in a museum!
Well, there’s still a hole on the side of the helmet… but that doesn’t really matter. It retains some original traces and can be considered a battle-damaged version. It has more stories to tell than a complete, new version!

He picked up his phone and turned around to take pictures. Front, back, left, right, bottom, top;

After filming one circle, I switched to video mode and did another circle. Unexpectedly, when the video was only halfway around, the entire helmet, including the plaster head underneath, started to vibrate!
Hey!
what's the situation?
Shen Le was surprised. Although he was surprised, he did not put down his phone, and even stopped the little guys around him from rushing over:

"Let it shake! Let it shake! I want to see what kind of trouble it causes! Wait until I finish filming and record the whole process!"

The helmet swayed left and right, tilted forward and backward. Especially in the direction where the hole was knocked, it fell to the opposite side, and then fell again, as if trying to avoid it, or as if it was repeating the process of being broken:
After shaking for seven or eight times, he suddenly collapsed, and fell into a pile of pieces of armor...

Shen Le stood there in a daze.

Hey!
Don’t bring this!

Tell me which knot of mine is loose! Don't shake them all off!
Oh, and my leather cord! Please don't ask me to use healing magic to reconnect it!
He rushed over and tried to check it. Fortunately, the helmet was a bit ethical in this regard, and all the leather straps were untied instead of being cut violently.

As for how a helmet without even hands could untie so many knots so quickly and accurately, that is another matter...

"So what do you mean? What did I do wrong? What step are you not happy with that you don't want me to fix?"

Shen Le gathered the armor plates, leather straps and pads together, put his hands on them, and asked repeatedly. The heat flow penetrated and washed back and forth again and again, and the armor under his hands clanged:
It seemed as if she was enjoying the power provided by Shen Le very much. She was swallowing it in big gulps and wanted him to come more.

However, no matter how Shen Le asked, it ignored him, not taking the initiative, not refusing, and not taking responsibility...

"Don't play dead! You're trying to show me 'the armor is still there'. What's the point of having a bunch of armor plates?" Shen Le said angrily:
"At least assemble it for me!"

Helmet, no, armor plate, continue to play dead, ignore it. Shen Le patiently braided the ropes, put on the armor plate, assembled it again, and put it back on the plaster man's head.

This time, as soon as he put it on, he pressed the armor plate with both hands and tried his best to input heat into it. The helmet greedily absorbed it for a long time, but when he let go of the front foot and turned around, the back foot collapsed!

Shen Le was silent. He had no choice but to hold the information and the 3D printed simulated nail plate and go to the next door to find a few professors:

"What on earth am I wearing wrong?"

"It feels right!" The professors gathered around the simulated helmet he had put together, and after examining it several times, they could find no fault with it:
"The shape is correct, the plates overlap each other, and the curvatures between them are also normal. There is no extra or missing piece, or any part is too long or short. So what problem did you encounter?"

"I... I finished putting together a helmet, but it wasn't satisfied with itself and collapsed..."

"..."

The old professors looked at him like a monster. Until Shen Le handed over the video, they watched it three times in a row, still a little bit unbelieving, and checked the surveillance again.

After reading it carefully, I couldn't help but sigh:

"This video, when it was posted online, no one would believe it."

"Will people say it's fake?"

"Produced with special effects in post-production?"

"Anyway, it's extremely unscientific..."

Shen Le was pacing around, but he didn't dare to urge him. Finally, Professor Bai noticed his look and waved to him soothingly:

"Don't worry, don't worry. I'll find an expert for you to ask—the best expert in armor repair in the country. Please be patient and wait!"

He packaged the video of Shen Le's repair process and sent it directly, and then made a phone call to the other party. Soon, the expert called back:

"Tang Dynasty armor? Where was it unearthed? Was it restored here? Is it convenient for me to see the real thing? - Wait a moment, I'll be there right away!"

"Hey! Wait! This is under the control of the Special Affairs Bureau. Ordinary people are not allowed to touch or use it!"

Too late. The other party has hung up the phone in a hurry. Professor Bai shrugged and smiled bitterly:
"Shen Le, can you wait for a day? He looks like he's going to fly over right away..."

"It's not that I can't wait." Shen Le spread his hands:
"The question is, can ordinary people touch this helmet? Maybe...it still depends on the opinion of the Special Affairs Bureau?"

As expected, the armor repair expert flew over the next day. Shen Le followed Professor Bai out to pick him up, but saw that he was tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a round waist, and estimated to weigh at least 200 pounds:

He swung the hammer himself, made the armor plates himself, made the armor himself and wore it on his body, and took photos to post on the Internet to show off his perfect figure.

A full beard extended from the ears to the chin, so hairy that even the lips were covered by it.

When Shen Le saw him like that, he was reminded of a bearded guest in Liao Zhai who had to use two silver hooks to hang his ears when eating, and then tie his beard up and hook it with the hooks...

"Hello, Professor Zhang." Professor Bai took the lead and went up to shake hands. The bearded man shook his hand and went straight to the point: "Where is the helmet?"

"The helmet is here." Shen Le raised his hand in the back row:

"But the spirit is too strong, the Special Affairs Bureau won't let anyone get close to it, we can only watch through the glass..."

"Write it for me first!"

The bearded guest immediately gave the order, and Shen Le rushed back to thread the rope again, tie the knots, and connect the armor plates to make a complete helmet.

The bearded man lay in front of the screen and watched without blinking for a long time, then sighed:
"Oh, it would be nice if I could just touch it... I can even touch it through the fume hood! Basically the whole body is isolated, so I can just reach out and touch it!"

"Sorry, no." A young man from the Special Affairs Bureau who rushed over to his side stared at him without blinking, not daring to relax:

"These spiritual things can't corrode people with just a pair of gloves - maybe glass can, but it's glass with spells and talismans added to it.

For ordinary people, it is safer to watch through the wall through the camera. Even some things are not safe through the camera. This helmet is too spiritual, it cannot be touched at all!"

"Ugh……"

The bearded guest stared at the helmet eagerly, watching it being connected, scattered, connected again, and scattered again, with an expression that said "I would be willing to die if I could touch it".

After a while, he lowered his head and thought:

"There shouldn't be any problems with the shape, weaving method, and helmet style of the armor you restored. If you can't weave it well, maybe... it doesn't recognize you?"

Can you do this?

A group of professors around him looked at him with squinted eyes, saying, "Go ahead and fool me." Shen Le thought about it and somewhat agreed:

Weapons are dangerous weapons, and dangerous weapons have spirits, and the probability is very high - the helmet, especially the one that has been broken and left to him by Black Storm, must be more spiritual. He couldn't help asking:
"so what should I do?"

"Can you find a suitable owner for it?" The bearded guest racked his brains.

Unfortunately, he had no talent for cultivation, and could only ponder various myths, legends, and stories while peeking at the expression of the guy from the Special Affairs Bureau next to him, observing his words and expressions:

"...Or, have you demonstrated any special abilities that it can recognize?"

It is impossible to find an owner for it. If I repair something, it must be mine. If I put it outside, it is not a question of whether I am willing to give it up, but mainly because I am afraid that it will cause trouble.

Shen Le thought about it, took a deep breath, and rubbed his hands. Maybe I could give it a try to make it accept it. At worst, I could give it a little more strength?
"Thank you! I'll try again!"

He bowed deeply, turned to the pile of scattered nail pieces on the table, and began to weave quickly again with his hands flying.

He had tried this job countless times and was already very familiar with it. He finished it in less than half an hour. He held it in his hands, hugged it in his arms, and began to input heat flow:
I want to see how much you want!
If you want it, I will give it to you. When you are full and satisfied, you must listen to me!
The heat flowed into the iron helmet. The iron helmet vibrated slightly, as if it had indeed become more obedient, and the sound of the armor plates hitting each other was much quieter.

He held the iron helmet with both hands, closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation. After struggling for a long time, the iron helmet finally conveyed a message like "I'm full" or "No need to eat anymore".

Shen Le breathed a sigh of relief, let go of his hand, put the iron helmet back on the plaster head, and looked at it eagerly:
This way you can be good, right?

It won’t collapse from time to time, right?

If you need anything else, let’s talk!

The Iron Helmet was indeed very quiet and stopped making any more noises. Shen Le waited anxiously for ten minutes, but saw no sign of it dispersing. He finally felt relieved and turned around to go out and have dinner with the Bearded Guest.

“You still have experience!”

"I did as you said, and it really calmed down!"

"Thank you so much! Thank you for taking the trouble to make this trip... I am honored to have you accept this 3D printed model of the helmet!"

The bearded guest smiled so much that his eyes narrowed. He kept refusing with his mouth, but he held the iron helmet model in his hand and refused to let go.

After finishing their meal, the group returned to the research institute. After just one glance at the screen, their faces changed:
"Why are they breaking up again?"

Is this helmet a Taotie?
Or are you still not trustworthy and just ignore people after you’ve eaten your fill?

It seems... we still have to challenge it and make it surrender willingly?
Shen Le sighed silently, his hands flying, braiding the leather rope again, threading the leather rope, and tying knots. He quickly braided the helmet, arranged the padding, and put it inside.

He held the helmet and looked left and right, gritted his teeth, made up his mind, lifted it up and put it on his head:
"Mr. Shen! Don't!"

"Be careful!"

"Should I wear more amulets——"

In the microphone, the voice of the guy from the Special Affairs Bureau, the voice of Professor Bai, and several unfamiliar voices came at the same time.

Shen Le no longer paid attention to them. He pressed hard and put his head directly into the helmet:

"Hmm... there's still a gap on top of my head... it doesn't make sense, everything else fits, could it be that the ancients had a gap on top of their heads that was longer than mine?
——Wait, I understand, it’s the hair! Ancient people all had long hair, and the extra piece is the height of the bun!”

Shen Le's thoughts raced. The thick bun on his head objectively acted as a shock absorber. If a hammer came down from above, it would at least provide some protection.
However, with such thick hair, marching, training, and fighting, all the sweat is trapped on the scalp, and just thinking about it makes the itchiness unbearable.

Not to mention, if the head is injured and bleeding, if you don't shave your hair and apply medicine directly, there is a risk of infection...

As soon as he thought of this, Shen Le's eyes went dark. The light and shadow changed so quickly that he was even in a trance for a moment:
The size of this helmet doesn’t cover the eyes, right?

Why did it turn dark?

Is it because my head is too small and the helmet just slipped off? Or is it because I put it on the wrong way around? I don’t remember that…

"Ah Li! What are you daydreaming about?" He was suddenly slapped hard on the back. Shen Le rushed forward, staggered two steps, and used the gun barrel to support his body to maintain his balance:

"what?"

"What are you talking about? Hurry up and pack your things. Your helmet is about to fall off! If you don't pack your things, we won't wait for you when we set off!"

Shen Le was at a loss. He looked left and right, and he was no longer in the research institute, or even in the city, but on an ancient Gobi road with no end in sight.
All of them were comrades, scattered around, in front, behind, and on both sides. Some were riding horses, some were walking, some were pushing heavy carts, and some were holding water bags and pouring water into their mouths with their heads tilted back.

Half of the men were wearing armor, ranging from mail made of connected iron plates, chain mail made of iron rings, to leather armor with copper nails, each type different.

Half of the people had no armor to wear, only thin cloth shirts with patches on the holes:

"This is……"

As he asked, he subconsciously reached out to straighten his helmet and tie the knot. Even if he wanted to take off the helmet and take a closer look at the pattern on it, he knew now was not the time:
Wait a minute?
Wait until the next time we set up camp to rest?
"Boss, how far are we to Kucha?"

"At least two months!" The veteran who was asked bent down, carefully tied his shoelaces, and adjusted his leggings one by one:
"Alas, I don't know what the situation is over there now..."

To Qiuci?
Shen Le's ears pricked up instantly. This word seemed to trigger a switch, allowing more memories to flood into his mind:

Yes, he is now in the Tang Dynasty, and the Anshi Rebellion has been fought - or rather, it has just been fought.

Because of this famous turmoil, the imperial court was unable to look westward, and many military towns in Hexi were captured by Tubo. After finally catching their breath, their army was sent by the imperial court to inspect Hexi, Anxi and other places...

As far as I can remember, this was the last large-scale army that the Tang Dynasty court could send to Anxi?
"gone!"

With a shout, the soldiers stood up and joined the ranks. Some mounted their horses, some walked, and some pushed carts. Shen Le also followed his muscle memory, found his horse, and climbed on it:
Fortunately, this body belongs to a cavalryman, or at least a low-ranking officer?

If I were to walk this long distance on my own, I would literally walk to death!

The journey was long, as if it would take a lifetime to finish. Shen Le followed the team on the road to Qiuci. The surrounding mountains were not steep, but there was almost no green.
The road under my feet was not too rough, but all along the way, there were stones of all sizes, and not even any dry and cracked soil.

This is not a good thing. It can only mean that the local area has been so dry for many years that the soil has not been able to absorb water and is not moist enough, so naturally there is no cracking.

Shen Le followed the team and walked for three full days before finally walking out of this mountain path. He saw a green field in front of him:
"Ah, we're finally at the water..."

He breathed a sigh of relief subconsciously. Finally there was a water source! Finally I could drink some clean water!

The water in his water bag was almost smelly. I don’t know how he didn’t get diarrhea after drinking it…

Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, smoke and dust billowed in the distance, and the sound of horses' hooves thundered. The officer in charge shouted:
"Enemy attack - formation -"

What?
what?

Shen Le quickly gathered with his own team. While reorganizing the team, he took off his horse bow and drew the bow and arrow like his comrades.

The two sides quickly approached each other, and he shot an arrow, and the arrow from the other side had already reached his head -

My eyes went dark, my body tumbled and fell, and soon I could feel nothing.

When he opened his eyes again, everything around him was in pieces, with parts of armor scattered all over the floor. Only a piece of patched silk fell on his head, which looked like a new mourning hat from Balenciaga.

Shen Le: “…”

What?
I am dead?
The iron sheet vibrated slightly, and the light shone, as if mocking him...

(End of this chapter)